


This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)

by delightfully_moody



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Forgiveness, Friendship, Getting along, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Matchmaking, Slow Burn, Wedding Planning, can you imagine, talking it out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-07-21 00:19:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16148612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delightfully_moody/pseuds/delightfully_moody
Summary: The timing was truly awful. After Reign was defeated, Supergirl decided to spend some time in Argo City indefinitely. Just before her departure, her identity was accidentally revealed to Lena, and the CEO was left feeling betrayed.Now it's six months later and Lena's plans to avoid Kara for the rest of her life fail miserably when Sam and Alex announce they're getting married. Kara returns to Earth, and she and Lena are thrown back into each other's lives with the expectation that they'll both help with the big wedding. And while Lena is determined she can do so without involving her heart, Kara seems set to prove her otherwise.





	1. Chapter 1

They’re supposed to be celebrating. And they _are_ , or at least Sam is. She seems to be having a perfectly great time if the unceasing grin on her face is anything to go off of. 

It’s just that Lena isn’t feeling quite as enthusiastic. She’s trying. She really is. She agreed to bring the alcohol when Sam said she had good news. But some small part of Lena is resistant to the contagious excitement. 

“ _I’m just not drunk enough for this_ ,” she thinks. With that in mind, she leans across her friend to pour herself another glass of wine, but Sam snatches the bottle away before Lena can grab it, giggling at the pout she gets in response.

“Oh stop it, Lena,” she teases.”You’re a guest in my house-- let me get it for you.”

The CEO gives her a suspicious look, but as Sam slowly makes a show of wiggling the fingers on her left hand as she reaches for the empty glass, the look turns amused.

“Why yes Sam, I’d love to get a closer look at your beautiful, new engagement ring,” Lena says with an affectionate eye roll. There’s pure joy practically rolling off her friend in waves, and she finally allows some of it to rub off on her as she takes Sam’s hand to admire the new addition.

It really is a beautiful ring. No doubt about that. But of course Lena approves-- she did help pick it out after all. 

She doesn’t think she’ll ever forget the way Alex Danvers showed up to her office in a panic last week. It wasn’t like the agent to wear her distress so clearly on her face. It immediately put Lena on high alert. What if something happened at the DEO? What if _she_ was back? She hated that she felt both worried and hopeful.

But she pushed the thought away when Alex stepped forward, wringing her hands.

“I’m going to propose to Sam,” she’d blurted out. 

Lena barely had any time to process that because Alex quickly followed up with a much softer, “And I want to do it right this time.” 

It was the sincerity in Alex’s voice that had Lena asking Jess to cancel the rest of her meetings for the day. And then the two unlikely friends went looking for the perfect ring.

Now as she sees it on Sam’s finger accompanied by the proud smile on Sam’s face, she knows she and Alex made a good choice.

“You totally helped, didn’t you?” Sam looks at her knowingly.

“A lady never tells,” Lena says with a sly smile.

Sam just wraps her arms around one of Lena’s and leans her head on her friend’s shoulder. “Thank you,” she says with a happy sigh. “I’m glad Alex can go to you for stuff like that. I mean I know she misses Kara and…”

The words are out before Sam can stop them, but she winces when she feels Lena stiffen beside her. An uncomfortable silence settles in the room.

It doesn’t last long though. Lena is determined not to let the mere mention of a name ruin the mood. They’re celebrating Sam’s engagement. They’re celebrating with a bottle of ludicrously expensive wine, and she’s never been more grateful to see an empty glass in front of her.

She promptly slides both glasses over to fill them and hands Sam’s over before holding up her own in a toast. “Well then,” she begins, a wry smile on her face. “Here’s to deciding you want to have sex with the same person for the rest of your life.”

Sam laughs good-naturedly and they both drink.

Lena stays another hour, eventually insisting that she has to be up early the next morning for a meeting. The two friends embrace at the door, the CEO offering one more “Congratulations” to her newly engaged companion.

“I’m really happy for you, Sam.”

And Sam knows that Lena means it, even if she catches the slightest trepidation in her words. It’s not like she’s oblivious to the fact that this wedding is going to create a complicated situation for her friend, but she’s sure that Lena will always support her. So she barrels ahead.

“Wait. I almost forgot-- I have to ask you an important question.”

Lena raises a questioning eyebrow in an attempt to hide her nervousness. She thinks she might know what’s coming, and she wishes she felt something simpler than this odd mix of dread and elation.

“Will you be my maid of honor?” Sam asks in a serious tone.

Lena only hesitates a moment before answering confidently, “Of course. I would be honored.” As if she’d say anything different-- Lena prides herself on being a fiercely loyal friend. In most situations.

On the drive back to her penthouse, Lena peers out the window at the passing lights and finally lets herself begin to process the whole night. 

Sam and Alex are engaged. And it isn’t that Lena isn’t happy for them. She’d meant what she said-- she really is. Especially for Sam, who more than deserves this after everything she’s been through in the last year. And Alex-- Alex has become a dear friend to her. She’d gotten to watch the two of them fall in love in a relatively short period of time, though it wasn’t hard for anyone with eyes to tell that something was going on between them from day one.

After they were able to figure out how to separate Reign and Sam permanently, Alex was there to pick up the pieces. It made sense for her to help with the recovery process, but on a more personal note, it was clear that Sam and Ruby were both rather fond of the DEO agent. The rest, as they say, is history.

So Lena was happy for them. The universe had brought together two people she cared about immensely. And the fact that someone felt close enough to her to ask her to be their maid of honor-- that seems like a miracle in and of itself. Lena doesn’t have the greatest track record with friendship. But she's grateful for the opportunity to prove herself, even if it puts a wrench in her plans. She was kind of hoping she could watch this wedding from the sidelines, but she knows in her gut that now she'll be tangled up in the whole damn thing. All tangled up in the planning, the arrangements, the players...

And that’s the catch. The one problem with these upcoming nuptials. She will have to see _her_ again. The former CatCo reporter, her ex-best friend, liar extraordinaire: Kara Danvers. Because Kara is family of soon-to-be family, and despite being off-planet for the last six months (something that’s been extremely convenient for Lena’s avoiding purposes), National City’s golden girl will surely return for this wedding.

Lena only hopes it isn’t anytime soon.

\----

It’s a little after three in the morning when Alex wakes to a crash coming from the kitchen. She grabs for the gun on the bedside table and slides out of bed without a sound. With careful footsteps she approaches the kitchen, hearing another clang and a muttered, “Shoot.”

At that Alex relaxes. The sound is all too familiar. She flips on the light in the kitchen to find her sister trying to the put the handle back on the refrigerator door. The blonde glances up with a sheepish smile. “Surprise?”

“What did you do to my fridge?” Alex asks as she tries to suppress a smile.

“Well... I was hungry? And I guess my body needs to adjust to being back on Earth?”

Now Alex can’t help but laugh and shake her head in amusement. She sets the gun down and makes a beeline for her sister. “Welcome back, you!”

Kara grins and wraps Alex in a bear hug. “Congratulations!” she exclaims, bouncing up and down excitedly and pressing a kiss to her sister’s head.

“Thank you,” Alex sighs happily. “I can’t believe you’re here! I mean I know I sent that message over the transmitter, but I didn’t expect you to show up until the actual wedding.”

Kara pulls back with a scoff. “Are you kidding? And miss all the wedding prep? Besides,” she returns to the fridge, opening it with a flourish, “six months has been way too long. I’ve missed you.”

“Agreed. You’ve been away far too long,” Alex considers, watching her sister's eyes light up as she spots a half-eaten blueberry pie. “But I get the feeling you may have missed the food more than you missed me.”

Kara’s just taken a huge bite of pie when Alex says this, and she shakes her head vehemently. She makes some unintelligible noise before swallowing and clearing her throat.

“That’s totally not true.” Alex raises an eyebrow at her and Kara reaches out to grab her sister’s hand before she amends, “Okay I have really missed earth food. Especially earth desserts. But I’ve mostly missed you! And Sam and Ruby, of course.” 

Alex can’t help but smile at that as Kara continues, “And J’onn, and James, and Winn, and…” Alex watches as her sister’s shoulder deflate, and she knows who’s missing from that list.

“And Lena?” Alex asks softly.

The blonde fidgets nervously with the hem of her sweater.

“How--”

“She’s fine. Maybe you guys can finally talk,” Alex says, trying to sound hopeful. There’s a beat before she moves to hug her sister again. “I’m glad you’re here, Kara.”

“Me too,” Kara says with a sigh.

They both seem content to stand there in the kitchen together until Alex feels herself starting to doze off.

“So… Can I go back to sleep? I really am glad you’re here, but it’s like three in the morning.”

Kara laughs and gives Alex a gentle shove toward her room. “Go on then.”

“Stay,” Alex insists. 

The two sisters slide on socked feet to bed, both falling in a giggling heap. 

“You’re getting married,” Kara whispers conspiratorially.

Alex smiles, staring up at the ceiling. “I know. It’s amazing,” says says reverently. In this moment, everything is perfect. She’s marrying the woman she loves, and her sister is going to be here to keep her calm through it all. 

“You’re going to be my maid of honor, right?” she asks as she rolls to face Kara. She holds up a finger before her sister can respond. “Wait. We decided Sam gets maid of honor, so I guess will you be my… best man? Best woman?”

Kara beams, delighted to see her sister so eager. 

“Absolutely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends! =]
> 
> We're going to ignore the evil Russian clone, okay? And honestly, most of that whole season ending.
> 
> Also, just to clarify. Although this fic is about Alex and Sam's wedding, this really is a Supercorp story at its core. I adore Kara and Lena together, and you better believe I'm going to push them into all sorts of fun situations. Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 2

Kara’s first morning back is surprisingly slow. Surprising to her at least, because National City has been without its resident hero for several months, and she assumed there’d be more of a mess left over for her to clean up. The fact that she thought as much makes her feel guilty. Clearly the DEO and local law enforcement have done a wonderful job in her absence. And with J’onn masquerading as Supergirl a few times week, the city has stayed relatively unscathed and totally oblivious to the fact that the superhero was even gone in the first place. 

While Kara knows she ought to be grateful for this, she can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. It’s accompanied by the all too familiar worry of not being needed anymore.

But she tries to push the feelings aside, instead focusing on the things she’s missed: the feel of her suit, the way the city hums beneath her as she weaves between buildings, and the strength that seeps into her body with every passing minute spent in the rays of the sun.

Supergirl is more than happy to get back to work and determines to stay busy, even if it means doing nothing but some good, old-fashioned, city maintenance.

“Welcome back, Supergirl!” a cheery voice calls through her comms, and Kara grins as she melts a fallen stop sign back into place with her heat vision.

“Winn! How are you??” she shouts, just a little too loud, startling an old lady waiting at the crosswalk. The superhero moves to offer the woman her arm, escorting her across the street with a cheery and apologetic smile.

“Oh you know me, girl! Just keepin’ it real,” Winn sing-songs.

There’s a garbled sound before Alex joins the line. “Supergirl, we’re picking up some unusual seismic activity downtown. Nothing huge, just… odd? Hamilton Park. Do you want to check it out and let us know if we need to send a squad out?”

“On it,” Kara responds quickly. She looks at the elderly pedestrian to make sure she isn’t needing any further assistance, and the woman just waggles her cane at the superhero, either in thanks or dismissal, Kara isn’t sure.

With an enthusiastic thumbs up to her companion, Supergirl takes for the sky in a blur of red and blue.

\----

Alex brings a squad downtown to assist Supergirl. She knows that her sister is unlikely to ask for help, even if she needs it. So although the superhero insists she’s fine, the sounds of frustration coming across the comms aren’t inspiring a lot of confidence. 

When they pull up to the scene, everything appears normal, besides the huffing superhero who appears to be spinning in circles with her gaze concentrated downward. 

It’s too weird not to comment on. “What the hell are you—“

The ground beneath them begins to rumble and Alex immediately points her gun at the grass at her feet, only to watch a crumbling hole appear. 

“Alex, don’t!” Supergirl starts to warn her, but it’s too late. As she leans to peer into the hole, something wickedly fast shoots out from it, grabbing her gun and dragging it into the small abyss it came from. 

With wide eyes, Alex whips to face Supergirl. “I thought you said they were robots!” The other DEO agents start to scan the ground with paranoid faces. 

“They are!” Supergirl insists and then adds, “Digging robots who apparently like stealing from people.”

Alex sighs, “Well good thing that gun requires my fingerprint to fire.”

“What? Since when?” Supergirl asks, and her sister’s about to answer when the rumbling starts again. 

“Our only shot at hitting these guys is when they’re above ground,” Alex says like she’s thinking out loud. 

“OMG GUYS IT’S LIKE WHAC-A-MOLE!” Winn contributes over the radio. 

“Ooh yes, good thinking. Let’s Whac-a-mole this shit.” Alex and other DEO agents nod to each other, seeming to be on the same page as multiple robots pop up from the ground this time. 

Supergirl looks confused as they all leap for different robots, swinging at them with the butts of their guns. 

“What’s wacky mole??” Kara shouts as she snatches for one robot while trying to use her heat vision to disable another. 

No one responds, quickly becoming overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of burrowing robots. 

“There are too many!” one of the agent yells, and Alex temporarily lowers her police baton and pulls a pair of night vision-looking goggles out of her belt. 

She scans the ground for a brief moment before whipping them off. “All the tunnels they’re digging are connected!” she shouts, moving to grab something else from her belt. 

“Wait did you just…?” Supergirl’s face scrunches in additional confusion. “X-ray vision?” she finishes weakly. 

“I’ll explain later,” Alex responds calmly, pushing the button on a device Kara’s never seen before and dropping it into one of many nearby holes. 

Only a few seconds have gone by when a loud zapping sound crackles underground. The robots remaining above ground all combust in a small shower of sparks. 

Alex and the other DEO agents collectively sigh in relief. Supergirl seems in a daze, staring at one of the collapsed robots. 

They return to the DEO, and the whole way there Alex tries to think of how to best answer the questions her sister will inevitably throw at her. 

This turns out to be somewhat unnecessary, as Kara gets to the DEO much sooner than everyone else and goes seeking her own answers. 

Alex finds her in the locker room, standing with her arms folded, staring up at one particular locker. One labeled **L. Luthor**.

The superhero doesn’t even turn around when she speaks, in a neutral tone: “So does she work here now?”

Alex moves to sit on the bench behind her sister. She reaches forward to tug at Kara’s cape, and the blonde finally turns and joins her, sitting with her arms still crossed. The superhero’s posture is lacking its usual confidence, and instead it looks like Kara is closing in on herself. Alex frowns.

“She doesn’t work here, but she works _with_ us on the occasional project. As a consultant of sorts.”

“So what you’re saying is she’s been developing weapons for you,” Kara states, and there’s a slight edge to her voice. “And trying to make Supergirl obsolete.”

Alex turns to face her sister more fully, her brow wrinkles in concern. She thinks of the x-ray vision goggles she used today and sees how Kara might’ve come to this conclusion.

“No,” she says firmly. She tilts her head to see if she can catch Kara’s eyes, and she sees that there are tears there. “Oh Kara…”

Kara brings her hands to her face, furiously wiping at her tears. “I’m fine,” she says in a shaky voice. “I’m sorry.” She takes a deep breath before continuing softly, “I wouldn’t blame her, honestly. If she wanted to get rid of me.”

Alex shakes her head, feeling the need to explain before her sister got too many ideas in her head. “Focusing on creating new tech has been a DEO decision. J’onn’s decision. _My_ decision. We didn’t know when,” she pauses carefully, “or _if_ you were coming back.”

The sullen superhero nods her head slowly.

“We absolutely supported your decision to be in Argo City, but we wanted to make sure we had our bases covered here. And Lena volunteered to help. She’s been…” Alex searches for the right word, but there really isn’t a sufficient one, so she settles. “Amazing.”

Kara’s lips twitch into a smile at that. She unfolds her arms and switches to fiddling with her hands in her lap, looking thoughtful all the while. She looks at Alex and says, “I’ve been telling you guys she’s amazing for over a year and _now_ you believe me?”

Alex smirks. “To be fair, I had no idea she could be such a wizard in the lab.”

They sit shoulder-to-shoulder in companionable silence another moment, before Kara clears her throat and tentatively asks, “Really though. On a scale from 1 to 10, how mad is she at me?”

\----  
As Alex recounts the morning’s events, Sam pokes at her pasta. She really is an attentive listener most of the time, but today she keeps getting distracted by Alex’s lips. It’s not her fault her fiance is so damn hot. She wishes they were having lunch somewhere more private, like her office.

But when Alex mentions Kara learning about Lena’s frequent DEO presence, she tunes back in.

“How is Kara feeling about that?” Sam asks.

Alex takes a sip of her water and raises an eyebrow at her girlfriend. “About what?”

“About seeing Lena again?” She glances at her watch. “Something that is happening right about now, I’d imagine.”

Alex freezes, the hand holding a forkful of food on the way to her mouth stopped in mid-air. 

Not a great sign. Sam winces. “Alex… Did we forget to tell Lena that Kara’s back?”

“SHIT.”

\----

Lena Luthor is going to kill Alexandra Danvers and Samantha Arias for not telling her. Both of them. Simultaneously. Upcoming wedding be damned.

That’s one of the thoughts she’s having as she watches a beaming Kara Danvers get welcomed back to CatCo by her many coworkers.

The other thought is that she absolutely must keep her composure, because this moment is one she’s rehearsed a million times in her head, and she has to get it right.

She turns away from the small commotion, slowly approaching the nearest desk and engaging briefly with the poor, nervous fellow sitting there. She pretends to read over something he gives her before nodding and handing it back. She backs away to leave when her heel catches on that awful, godforsaken corner of carpet that came undone this last week, and she stumbles backwards right into strong and familiar arms.

Steady hands find her hips as she rights herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. 

“Lena?”

Kara says it so very gently. It’s not an actual question. If it was, Lena thinks it was the stupidest question of all time. It doesn’t matter that it feels like Lena’s whole body _hums_ at the sound of that voice saying her name-- the anger that bubbles up inside her quickly trumps it.

“Don’t. Touch. Me.” She seethes, and Kara’s hands retreat like she’s been burnt.

“I’m so sorry,” the blonde stammers, but already Lena is walking away, all her plans thrown out the window. She can feel Kara following behind her, and it does nothing to ebb her rising panic.

“Wait, please,” Kara insists, lowering her voice to a hushed whisper when she glances around to remind herself of the potential audience. “We need to talk.”

They’ve just reached the doors to James’s office when Lena whirls around, pinning Kara in place with a glare. “Oh _now_ you want to talk? You’re six months too late for that.” 

She pulls open the door and delivers her final blow: “Leave me alone, Ms. Danvers. We both know it’s what you’re good at.”

As the door closes on Kara, Lena remembers, to her great humiliation, that the doors and walls of this office are made of glass. There is nothing to prevent her from seeing the devastation on her former friend’s face.

It’s almost enough to make Lena swing the door open again. To pull Kara into a hug and squeeze until the other girl smiles again. Lena doesn’t think she’s ever seen a smile as beautiful as Kara Danver’s.

But then again, she’s not even sure she knows who Kara Danvers is anymore. And that’s the point. How can she trust someone who’s lied about who she really is?

So Lena turns away. And she doesn’t look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness gracious let the girl speak amirite


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, the old Lena can't come to the phone right now. Why?
> 
> Cuz she's avoiding!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you catch a special rabbit? Unique up on it!  
> How do you catch a tame rabbit? Tame way.

“ _Don’t. Touch. Me._ ”

A week goes by and that entire exchange plays on repeat in Kara’s mind. That was not how it was supposed to go.

Every day that Kara was away, she’d thought about Lena. Thought about how much the CEO would love Argo City. She wondered what Lena was working on, what she was eating for dinner, who she was spending time with. But most of all, Kara wondered how she would even begin to apologize to her best friend the next time she saw her. 

Certainly not like that.

It’s hard not to dwell on the ice in Lena’s voice. Kara’s heard it before—she’d prickled when it was aimed towards her. Or rather, aimed towards Supergirl. But even that derisive tone had been nothing compared to the _hurt_ that laced the CEO’s words that afternoon in front of Cat’s old office.

It’s not like the response was surprising. Kara had expected as much. What she _wasn’t_ expecting was not getting the chance to explain herself.

Instead she got a brutal dismissal.

Kara feels sick just thinking about it. Sick and even more _desperate_ for the chance to make amends.

But Lena had told her to leave her alone. And while that was likely an actual request, it was probably also meant to be a well-placed jab, knowing that once upon a time, Kara had promised Lena she wouldn't go anywhere.

She’s made a huge mistake and she can’t rest until she’s fixed it.

It doesn’t help that CatCo’s owner hasn’t shown her face in the building for a week now. But today that might change, because Kara knows for a fact that the Executive Board is meeting this morning (she may or may not have been checking the conference room schedule religiously). 

Kara tries to act as natural as possible, sitting at her desk, typing away like the good reporter she is. No one has to know all the words on her screen are gibberish, and that every five seconds she can’t help but glance towards the elevators. 

That is, until a large figure blocks her view. She glances up. James. 

“Hey, you coming tonight?” he asks, not seeming to notice how distracted the blonde in front of him is. 

Kara looks at him with a bit of a confused face. “Remind me again what’s tonight?” She leans a bit to the side to test if she can still see around him. 

He unconsciously leans too, mirroring Kara’s position, and she sighs. 

“Drinks? We’re going out to celebrate your sister’s engagement.”

“Right,” she says distractedly, before processing and looking up at James. “Wait engagement party? Isn’t that the kind of thing I’m supposed to help plan?” 

“Nah,” he insists. “This isn’t a formal thing. You can organize that later with family and friends and all that jazz.”

She slumps in her chair a little. “Man, Earth weddings are complicated.”

James chuckles. “I mean at least the brides are pretty low-maintenance.”

“Well Alex is, at least,” a voice says from behind James, and he turns to bring a smiling Sam into view. “I, on the other hand, make no promises.”

“Sam!” Kara says happily, standing to embrace her future sister-in-law. She feels genuinely excited to see her— this woman who’s made her sister so happy. 

Sam gives a little wave to James when she pulls away from Kara, and he nods in greeting before asking, “What brings you to CatCo today?”

“I’m uh,” she glances at Kara for a millisecond, “covering for Lena while she gets some things done at L-Corp today.” She looks at her watch. “Speaking of which, I really do have to run.” 

As she backs away she quickly points to both of them. “I’ll see you guys tonight?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” James says at the same time Kara attempts a cheery, “Of course!”

They both watch Sam rush away, and they stand there, hands in pockets until James says, “Sooo… about Lena.”

Kara sighs. “I messed up big time, James. And now she doesn’t want to talk me. Or even be anywhere near me, apparently.” 

He responds in a lowered voice. “I heard about the other day when she… said some things to you in the office.”

Kara’s hands fly out of her pockets then, and she’s waving them around when she says, “And I deserved it! That’s fine. But now what am I supposed to do? Give her time? Space? Haven’t I already given her that for the last six months?”

“I don’t know,” he replies with a sad shake of his head. “It’s more like you gave _yourself_ time and space.” He pauses before adding, in a joking tone, “Like you literally ran away to space.”

Kara fails to even crack a smile at that, and James frowns at her. 

“Aw c’mon, Kara,” he nudges her with his shoulder. “I’m sure you guys can work it out.”

“How is that supposed to happen if she won’t even let me talk to her?” Kara all but whines, and she’s instantly embarrassed at how childish she sounds. 

She sits back at her desk and waves James away.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll figure something out.”

—-

Kara goes to L-Corp. That is the brilliant plan she comes up with after sitting there pretending to work for another hour before she couldn’t stand it anymore. 

“Supergirl does not sit idly by. She acts,” she tells herself as she zips through the air.

She makes two stops, and then she’s walking in the building with windswept hair, an equally windswept bouquet of flowers, and a steaming hot latte. 

All it takes is one look at Lena’s secretary to know that this trip isn’t going to be very successful—Jess is glaring daggers at Kara as she approaches. 

Kara tries to put on her best smile, but there’s a noticeable grimace in it.

“Jess! It’s me. Kara Danvers. I was gone for awhile?” She takes a deep breath to slow her ramble before continuing with an even wider smile, “But I’m back now, so I’m just gonna—“

Kara starts moving towards the door of Lena’s office, but Jess is up in a flash and blocking the entryway with her tiny body. 

“You’re not allowed in there,” Jess asserts. 

If Kara wasn’t feeling so desperate, she’d laugh. She knows she can plow right through this woman, but the warning in Jess’s glare is enough to make her hesitate. 

“What happened to being let in whenever I’m here?”

“That’s no longer the case, Ms. Danvers,” Jess says firmly. “Now I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Before she can respond, Jess moves to take the flowers and coffee from Kara’s hands. Kara’s so taken aback that she lets her. 

Finally she looks at Jess in confusion and asks, “Well wha—“ she crosses her arms over her chest. “When can I see her?”

“Let me see,” Jess muses, setting the stuff down on her desk and pulling out a planner. She slowly flips through it while Kara looks on impatiently. 

Jess finally snaps it closed with a dramatic flourish, and looks at Kara with a blank expression. “Never,” she deadpans. 

Kara huffs in annoyance and glances back to Lena’s office. She slips her glasses down her nose to see if the CEO is even there, but she’s surprised when she can’t see anything. 

Confused, she slips her glasses up and back down again, doing a double take of sorts. Confirmed: she can’t see through the door.

Her moment of shock is interrupted when Jess clears her throat next to her, reminding the superhero of her existence and the fact that she’s not at all being stealthy about using her x-day vision. 

“Don’t bother. Ms. Luthor had the walls of her office lined with lead. For some reason.” She gives Kara a pointed look. 

The reporter sighs, putting a hand up to cover her face. 

“You’ll need to sign an NDA,” she grumbles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted two chapters today because this one is short, it's SuPeRcOrP SuNdAy, and this and the next chapter chronologically really belong together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CHOO CHOO all aboard the friggin angst train

It's been another long day at the DEO, and Alex is glad it's starting to wind down. She's looking forward to a celebratory evening at the bar with the gang, but for now she's stuck staring blankly at a monitor while Winn rolls around on his chair next to her.

“I asked Lena to come look at the those schematics for the new biometric scanner, so you might wanna—“ Winn makes a shooing gesture with his hands. 

Alex looks at him questioningly, and he frowns. 

When the agent continues to stare at him with no intention of verbally responding, Winn sighs. He lowers his voice to a whisper: “You should probably get rid of the pissy superhero beating the crap out of concrete blocks in the training room right now.”

Alex actually shudders at that. She hasn’t seen Kara this frustrated for a long time. 

“Really don’t know what to do about that,” she mutters. 

“Maybe you should stage an intervention?” Winn says, rather unhelpfully. 

But it does give her an idea. She pulls out her phone— she’s going to need backup. 

\---

It’s half past seven when Lena strolls into the DEO. She tells herself it’ll be a quick stop. Just to look over some blueprints. She wants to go home and change before going out for drinks tonight. 

And she also doesn’t think it’s wise to linger at the DEO longer than is necessary these days. Not until things have died down. 

The truth is, Lena knows her careful avoidance won’t last forever. She just needed a minute to catch her breath. To remember that she’s over it. Kara Danvers, Supergirl— whoever she is— she doesn’t get to Lena anymore. So she walks in with her head held high. 

Winn intercepts her almost immediately, holding up some spreadsheets for her to see. 

“Heyyy so I think we should use titanium here instead. What do you think?”

Lena chuckles. “Right down to business then, Mr. Schott.”

“I mean, yeah,” he says with a lopsided grin. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go get sloshed.”

Lena makes a disapproving sound and snatches the papers from Winn. “You’re a lousy drinker, and you know it. I, for one, will be attempting to keep a clear mind tonight, thank you very much.”

They spend the next fifteen minutes going over the plans, and Lena thinks they’re just about done when Sam walks in the room. 

“Hey,” Lena says, in question more than greeting, and with mild confusion on her face. It’s not unusual for her friend to show up at the DEO, especially since her girlfriend works here, but Sam is usually with said girlfriend, and Alex is nowhere in sight.

“Hi guys. You done here?” Sam asks, calm and collected as always. 

Shooting an apologetic smile at Lena, Winn gathers the blueprints and walks past her. 

“She’s all yours,” he says to Sam, and they nod at each other in understanding. 

Lena’s look of confusion morphs into one of suspicion. 

“Sam… What the hell is going on?”

“Listen, this is not a trap,” Sam starts, hands up in a placating gesture, but Lena is feeling anything but placated. 

Lena opens her mouth to respond but Sam continues, “I’m just going to be totally upfront with you, okay? Kara is here.”

With a slow blink, Lena shrugs an effort to seem impassive. “So?”

“Alex called me, and we think that maybe you two should clear the air before we all hang out at the bar tonight, you know?”

“Are you sure this isn’t a trap? Because it’s really starting to feel like one,” Lena says, trying not to sound irritated. 

With a huff, Sam comes to sit next to her friend, putting a gentle hand on her arm. 

“I am on your side on this, Lena, I really am. Kara should’ve come clean. You shouldn’t have had to find out the way you did, and she should’ve stayed to fix what she’d broken.” 

Lena looks at her friend solemnly, catching the emotion in Sam’s voice. 

“We’ve been over this. I was furious for you, _with_ you, you know that,” Sam continues, and Lena smiles just the tiniest bit as her mind flashes to the many times she’s gone to Sam to vent.

“And under any other circumstance, I’d say you don’t owe her anything. You don’t need to talk to her.”

The CEO sighs and says what she knows is coming next: “But she’s your fiancé’s sister.”

“Yes,” Sam says. “She will be my sister soon, and you are like _my_ sister, so… I’m not saying you guys need to become best friends again—“

“I can be civil,” Lena says dismissively. “It’s just that she’s…” she waves a hand in the air, looking for the right word. 

“Difficult to hate?”

“No,” Lena mutters. “Just difficult, period,”

\---

There’s something satisfying about smashing her fist into hard, solid rock. Metal can be nice too— the way it molds to the shape of her hand and bends at her will. But it’s the rock, the concrete, the way it _crumbles_. That’s what Kara needs right now. 

She’s been at it a while now, pounding out her frustrations. She’s almost offended that no one’s come to check up on her, but it seems to be her new reality. 

No one’s looking for her, no one needs her help, no one wants to hear her apologies, and that’s just swell. 

But someone does interrupt her eventually. Alex comes in, wordlessly handing her some black sweats. Only then does the superhero realize her suit is bit of a mess, covered in dust and bits of rock. 

She changes quickly and meets her sister in the other training room. Alex has turned on the kryptonite emitter and put on some punch mitts. 

Kara feels her strength ebb and takes a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. She starts to throw some hits at the pads on Alex’s hands, and they settle into their usual rhythm. It’s comforting, that at least this hasn’t changed. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alex finally asks. 

“I don’t know, Alex. I feel completely helpless,” she says with a small shake of her head. “She doesn’t want to see me.”

They continue to circle each other, Kara throwing easy punches. 

“Well she’s going to have to see you eventually. This wedding’s not going to help plan itself,” Alex says with a gentle smile.

“Seeing me is only the half of it” Kara grumbles. “Then I have to get her to hear me out, and there’s really no easy way to say ‘Hey, sorry I never told you this super important fact about me and that you found out because my mom accidentally told you and then I left before we could talk about it.’”

She ends the sentence with a particularly strong jab, which Alex dodges, and Kara manages to topple right off the platform. 

With a groan, the blonde lays there on the ground, defeated. Her sister approaches her with a look of sympathy. 

“Then you know what? If you can’t tell her, you’ll just have to show her.” Alex says firmly, pulling the mitts off and reaching out a hand to tug her sister to her feet. 

When Kara’s standing, Alex moves both her hands to either side of her sister’s face and gives her a serious look. 

“I know you, Kara. You are imperfect, just like the rest of us, but you are _good_. You are one of the best people I know. You’re brave, loyal, and kind beyond measure. Lena knows it too— you just need to remind her.”

Kara eyes pool with tears and she’s flooded with gratitude for her sister. She’s pulls her into a hug with a whispered, “Thank you.”

Reluctant to end their embrace, Kara continues to grip at Alex, making her sister chuckle. But the sight of the two women standing in the doorway makes her whole body freeze.

Alex must notice because she gives Kara one last squeeze and steps away, turning to greet Sam and Lena, like she was expecting them. 

Kara studies the unreadable expression on Lena’s face as the two parties move toward each other. Then she watches Alex slip her hand into Sam’s, who kisses her cheek in greeting. The two look at each other with a soft kind of adoration that makes Kara’s heart twinge.

The moment is broken when Alex leans to whisper something to Lena, too quiet for Kara to hear with the kryptonite. Lena nods stiffly, and Alex and Sam walk away.

And just like that, they’re alone. 

Under normal circumstances, Kara would be word vomiting by now. But only her sister’s words echo in her head. All the speeches and apologies she’d rehearsed have vanished into thin air. She can’t remember a damn thing she’d prepared, because Lena Luthor is standing just a few feet away, looking as beautiful and composed as ever, and by golly Kara has missed her.

Luckily, Lena takes takes the reins here. “Look,” she begins, in what Kara would classify as the woman’s diplomatic CEO voice. “I’m just going to make this easier for both of us and lay down the facts.”

Lena moves to the room controls and turns off the emitter before she continues. 

“I trusted you, and you lied to me. You lost your chance to rectify the situation when you decided to leave.”

“And I’m sorry,” Kara interjects, finally starting come to her senses. “I am deeply sorry; I know I messed up—“

Lena holds up a hand. “We don’t need to talk about it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s in the past, and now we can move forward and agree to be professional colleagues for the sake of this wedding.”

“Professional colleagues?” Kara says in disbelief. She takes a step towards Lena and her heart sinks when the other woman takes a step backwards. 

“Lena,” the superhero says softly. “I think we do need to talk about this. I want to explain myself.”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” Lena asserts. 

“They’re not—“ Kara pauses and amends, “Fine. They may sound like excuses to you, but I only ever thought about keeping you safe—“

“Bullshit,” Lena all but shouts before continuing in a more controlled tone: “But like I said, I don’t want to hash this out. It’s too late for that.” 

Kara doesn’t want to get upset, but she feels the frustration in her building and threatening to spill out. 

“Well I don’t want to just be ‘professional colleagues,’” she says, using air quotes. And she knows it’ll sound desperate, but she spits it out anyway: “I want my best friend back!”

Lena turns to ice then, and Kara immediately knows that this too will be added to her continuously growing list of mistakes. 

“You have some real nerve to think we could _ever_ be friends again,” Lena says with a bite, finally seeming to lose some of her previous composure. She laughs humorlessly. “Your sense of entitlement is truly astonishing. You come strolling back here expecting everything to be the way it was. The whole world at your feet, begging you to be their hero. And me: stupidly, blindly willing to follow you to the ends of the earth. Well guess what, Kara? This world doesn’t need you anymore. _I_ don’t need you anymore.”

The tension in the silence that follows is unbearable. Kara feels like she’s taken a physical hit— a blow so visceral and powerful it knocked the wind right out of her. 

Even Lena doesn’t seem to know what to do in the aftermath of her words. She stares down at her hands with a look of empty resignation. 

This is not going well, and Kara knows it’s her fault.

With a heavy sigh she says, albeit shakily, “Okay.”

Lena looks up, her careful mask of indifference back in place. But Kara can see right through it. She knows that Lena can lash out and say hurtful things when she’s upset, and as much as she’d like to push the envelope here, she’s certain that salvaging this relationship is going to require a surrender on her part. 

“Okay what?” the CEO asks distrustfully. 

“I agree not to talk about it,” Kara complies, sadly. “Until you’re ready to. Or want to,” she adds, and Lena scoffs. 

This time when Kara takes a step closer, Lena doesn’t back away, and Kara continues. 

“And we both care about Alex and Sam. We each have our part to play with their wedding, and we’ll have to work together. Peaceably. So consider this my olive branch.”

Kara holds out her hand in offering. “Deal?” she asks carefully.

With narrowed eyes, Lena takes her hand and shakes once, steady and sure. 

“Deal.”

It’s bittersweet, that they can agree on something, and as Kara watches the other woman walk away, she hopes she’s doing the right thing. 

She promises herself then. To take her sister’s advice. 

She’s going to do whatever it takes to get Lena Luthor back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time: they finally go get those damn drinks


End file.
